The Adventures of Socrates the Cat in Australia

Socrates has survived three days in the African wilderness, faced a lion, befriended cheetahs and escaped a crocodile. Now he expects to return home. But his travelling companion Andrey, nicknamed Columbus, has a surprise: instead of flying home from Africa, they are going to Australia. Socrates misses the Smirnovs, Pukha and especially Bella, but curiosity gradually wins. Australia will be unlike any place he has visited, and it will be the country where an ordinary domestic cat is mistaken for a god.

Welcome to Australia

After a long journey, Socrates and Columbus reach Melbourne. Their host Trevor works in radio and has helped organise an exhibition of photographs from the Travelling Cat project. Trevor lives in a comfortable house with a garden and swimming pool, but its other residents surprise Socrates. One is Borzini, a small, non-venomous python. Socrates initially imagines being swallowed alive. Borzini proves intelligent, amusing and sociable, with interesting views on the unfair reputation of snakes. The other is Albert, a koala who rests most of the time in a eucalyptus tree. Socrates cannot understand how anyone can devote so much of life to sleeping, but Albert knows the country's dangerous creatures. Gradually Borzini becomes a friend, and Socrates even learns to sleep peacefully curled up beside the snake.

Columbus and Trevor take him sightseeing. Melbourne offers music, unfamiliar buildings, strange animals and cultural history, including places associated with AC/DC. Socrates learns that Australia's seemingly harmless creatures can be dangerous, and his confidence in his own hunting skills suffers. Nevertheless he continues investigating everything that catches his attention.

A Sacred Animal

Columbus's exhibition at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building displays enlarged photographs of Socrates' extraordinary journeys, including his friendships with African cheetahs. Visitors admire the images and photograph the living star. Among them is an elderly Aboriginal community leader accompanied by an interpreter, Stephen. The leader studies the pictures, approaches the cat and bows reverently. He believes Socrates is descended from Thylacoleo, the extinct Australian marsupial lion, an animal sacred in the community's beliefs as portrayed in the novel. Trevor and Stephen attempt to explain that Socrates is a domestic cat, but the leader remains convinced.

Later, after returning to Trevor's house, Socrates becomes strangely sleepy and dreams of a woman in ceremonial ornaments telling him to take his rightful throne. He wakes on a luxurious cushion in a large hut, surrounded by unknown people kneeling and praying. The same chief stands before him. Socrates has been kidnapped. The villagers provide excellent meat, bedding and ritual honours and interpret every ordinary feline action as miraculous. For a moment, the attention flatters him. But he soon learns that admiration without freedom is captivity: guards watch him and he cannot leave. No splendid throne can replace Columbus or his own family.

Arum the Kangaroo

Socrates meets Arum, a large grey kangaroo raised among the community. Arum understands much of what the villagers say and becomes the cat's interpreter. He is gentle but timid, afraid of displeasing the people who raised him. He reveals that the chief's daughter Lati arranged Socrates' kidnapping, sincerely believing she was bringing a sacred creature where it belonged. Socrates is furious but slowly understands that good intentions can still destroy freedom.

While Socrates and Arum are outside, a sudden rainstorm breaks. The settlement has suffered drought, and the people decide that their sacred visitor brought the needed rain. Socrates knows it was coincidence, but nobody listens. His reputation as a miracle worker grows. He uses his undeserved authority to protect Arum from punishment and demands the kangaroo be allowed to accompany him.

During an elaborate ceremony Lati washes his paws, brushes his fur and hangs a ceremonial necklace around his neck. Socrates worries that the distinctive ornament will identify him should he escape; anyone could return him to his captors. He begins planning, and needs Arum's help.

Finding a Family

Socrates persuades Arum to take him to a nearby lake, where they meet wild kangaroos, including talkative Django and attractive Illara. Arum and Illara immediately take an interest in each other. Arum explains that as a baby he fell from his mother's pouch during an attack by dingoes, was rescued by humans and never saw her again. One of the kangaroos recognises the story and calls over Yandisha. She realises that Arum is her long-lost son — she had believed her baby dead. Their reunion is overwhelming. Arum credits Socrates with a miracle, but the cat knows he merely encouraged his friend to approach his own kind.

Arum also takes Socrates to a cave with prehistoric paintings, including the marsupial lion. The cat observes that its body and teeth resemble those of a domestic cat very little. He becomes more determined to escape. At a kangaroo gathering, he watches wrestling contests and encourages Arum to believe in his own strength. Illara also supports him. Socrates wants his friend to discover courage, not cruelty. The affection of Illara and the joy of reunion with his mother make Arum imagine life among his own kind rather than under constant human protection.

The Escape

Both animals realise they are prisoners in different ways. Socrates is worshipped but cannot leave; Arum is cared for but prevented from living among his family. After another unpleasant incident, Socrates insists they must escape together. Arum is terrified of defying the community. Socrates reminds him that powerful legs are useless if their owner never dares to move. At last Arum breaks the hut door. As villagers and guards rush towards them, Socrates jumps on the kangaroo's back and Arum bounds away. His enormous leaps soon outpace the pursuit.

Near a lake the fugitives encounter three dingoes that see them as prey. Socrates attacks one dog's face with his claws; the others confront Arum. The kangaroo fights back with his powerful hind legs and drives them away. He learns that the courage he needed was inside him all along. Socrates helped him find it.

Two Friends, Two Destinations

As they move towards civilisation, Socrates finally confesses that he is no god. He is an ordinary cat, unable to control the weather or perform miracles. Arum replies that this does not matter. Socrates changed his life, reunited him with his family and taught him to make his own choices — more important than supernatural powers.

They encounter wild kangaroos, among them Arum's own relatives. Socrates urges his friend to join them. Arum fears abandoning him, but the settlement is near and the cat insists he can manage alone. They embrace, and Arum bounds away towards his family. Socrates is sad but happy: his companion has found his rightful place.

Alone again, Socrates reaches a human settlement and looks for veterinary help. The clinic is closed, and he curls up outside to wait until morning. A woman arrives and speaks Russian. She notices his unusual necklace and first assumes he belongs to the nearby Aboriginal community. Socrates fears she will return him. But on examining him she discovers an identification microchip under his skin. The cat has an identifiable owner. The woman opens the clinic and takes him inside to find out who he belongs to.

The story ends here, before any reunion with Columbus or the Smirnovs. Socrates has not reached home, but has found someone who may help him return. He has learned that freedom is more precious than worship and that the greatest gift we can give another creature is confidence to choose its own path.

The Adventures of Socrates the Cat in Australia is a humorous, suspenseful story of freedom, friendship and self-discovery, in which a reluctant feline god and a timid kangaroo each help the other find the courage to become himself.